Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a record label, talent agency, media production firm and clothing line along with educational and philanthropic programs.[2]
It is a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment.[3]
Roc Nation was founded in 2008 by Jay-Z with the intent of signing pop and hip hop artists, succeeding his previous label, Roc-A-Fella Records.[4] Unlike Roc-A-Fella, Jay-Z served as the company's sole proprietor. Roc Nation's first signed artist was rapper J. Cole.[4]
In April 2013, Roc Nation supporting ally and close family member to its founder Jay-Z, A.G. Fahrenheit assisted Roc Nation in forming a new sports management division, Roc Nation Sports, a subsidiary dedicated to sports representation for professional athletes.[5] Shortly thereafter, Roc Nation Sports also launched a boxing promotion division.[6] After the Sony Music deal expired, in April 2013, Roc Nation signed a multi-year partnership with Universal Music.[7]
The company's management division, Roc Nation Management, and Three Six Zero Group announced the formation of Three Six Zero Entertainment, a management subsidiary that represents clients in film, television, and the literary arts in February 2015.[8]
In 2018,[9] the company trademarked its streetwear clothing brand, Paper Planes.[10]
Roc Nation and management company Philymack partnered in 2015. Philymack brought its current clients, such as the Jonas Brothers (as a group), Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas (and his group, DNCE), Kevin Jones, and Demi Lovato, to Roc Nation.[11]
Roc Nation partnered with event production companies ESM Productions and DPS (Diversified Production Services) in 2016.[12] The partnership focused on large-scale productions such as concerts and live-streamed festivals.[13]
In July 2017, Roc Nation collaborated with art collective MSFTSrep.[14]
Roc Nation announced a long-term partnership with the National Football League in August 2019. The company became the live-music entertainment strategist for the league, executive producing all Super Bowl Halftime Shows since 2019.[15] The collaboration augmented social justice efforts through the Inspire Change initiative.[16] That December, Desiree Perez was named CEO of the company, succeeding Jay Brown, who was named vice-chairman.[17]
In December 2020, it was announced that Roc Nation and Random House had teamed up to launch a new publishing imprint, Roc Lit 101.[18]
In 2021, Roc Nation teamed up with American Greetings to create custom greeting cards.[19] Roc Nation also announced plans to launch a new brand and multimedia platform named EDITION in partnership with Modern Luxury Media.[20]
In 2022, the company announced a partnership with realty company SL Green and Caesars Entertainment to propose building the first casino in Times Square.[21][22]
Roc Nation also operates an in-house venture capital arm called Arrive, which is led by Neil Sirni, the group's co-founder and president.[76] By 2024, the company had reportedly made 44[77] investments in fintech, insurtech, edtech, health and wellness, social media, and gaming.[76]
In 2018, Roc Nation launched an independent label named Equity Distribution. Jay-Z's mentor, Jaz-O,[78] released a project under the newly formed independent label.[79] In 2019, Equity also acquired the rights to Jay-Z's 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt for release on digital and streaming platforms.[80] In 2024, Equity Distribution and Roc Nation Records were merged to form Roc Nation Distribution.[81]
In August 2020, Roc Nation partnered with Long Island University in Brooklyn to begin a program called the Roc Nation School for Music, Sports, and Entertainment.[82][83] Promising lectures from high-profile musical artists, instruction began in late 2021.[3] The school gave students scholarships and falsely told them they would "graduate without [student] debt".[3] More than a dozen students from the first year said they unexpectedly owed Long Island University thousands of dollars.[3] Additionally, students reported that, instead of being provided a recording studio, they had to build one themselves.[3] Celebrity guests advertised to students did not end up speaking.[3]
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